Scheduling Conflict
by Leyrann
Summary: Dodging Prison and Stealing Witches (by LeadVonE) spinoff oneshot. CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS, TAKES PLACE AFTER CH. 51! When Harry is considering how to deal with his parents expecting him to come along to the Winter Festival as Harry Potter, while having to be there as host Lord Slytherin, he decides the easiest solution is to simply inform them. M-rating is probably paranoia.


**WARNING: You're not going to understand shit of this if you haven't read DPaSW. Then again, why the hell haven't you read it? Go read it! There's a reason it's the third most followed fanfic on this entire damn website. You can always read my stuff after.**

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**AN: I was wondering about how Harry, in LeadVonE's Dodging Prison and Stealing Witches, would deal with being invited to the Slytherin winter festival (which is very likely to happen, as the Potters are a prominent political family) while also having to host it. It's probably going to be something boring like one of the girls being "ill" and masquerading as Harry with Polyjuice, but I personally enjoyed this alternative option.**

**I also do believe there will be a talk like this at some point as Harry is **_**probably**_** going to reveal that he is Lord Slytherin to the Potters before it becomes common knowledge, and once the matter of the prophecy comes up, I really do expect it to play out like it happens here. Except I'm not sure if Harry and John will change their stance towards one another in the way they do in this fic, you can blame that on my writing style.**

**So yeah, this plays just before the Slytherin winter festival, which means it would play more or less concurrently to Chapter 52, a bonus chapter that is (as of the time I am publishing this) in the final stages before being released.**

**And one additional thing, Fate has not actually told Harry to do anything about Dumbledore, she has only shown severe dislike of him and his methods. However, I only realized that after writing so Harry just misremembered what she said and is under the impression she **_**did**_** tell him to do something about Dumbledore. Or maybe he just lied through his teeth, whatever. Oh, and LeadVonE has confirmed on Discord that the prophecy in DPaSW is exactly the same as it is in canon.**

**AN: One more thing, regarding the fics I'm writing myself, I will hopefully return to updating in the near future, but I am currently dealing with some problems which include a lack of ability to focus (today has been the first day in several weeks that I could properly focus on writing). Rest assured I do NOT plan to abandon what I'm writing.**

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**Disclaimer: I have no idea if this is even needed if I write a fanfic of a fanfic, but I don't own Harry Potter and blablabla all the other stuff.**

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**Scheduling Conflict**

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"Mum, dad? Can I talk to you about something? I'd like for John to be there as well."

They were just finishing up breakfast when Harry asked his question.

"What about?" Lily asked.

"Well," Harry hedged, "I was trying to work out a scheduling conflict I have during the holidays, but in order to solve it I'm going to have to discuss some other things with you as well. In all honesty—" he glanced at the clock "—I wouldn't be surprised if we're talking until lunch."

Lord Potter gave him a grave look. "Then we might as well move to the sitting room and get started. Is this about Lord Slytherin?"

"He… plays a part."

"I am worried about your association with him," James said as he led the way to the sitting room.

"I expect you'll have a better understanding of it after today."

Harry sat down on a chair, John taking another one while James and Lily took a couch.

Here they go.

"John, perhaps you could tell me about what your years at Hogwarts have been like so far? I wasn't always around, you see."

John gaped at him, while their parents simply seemed confused.

"What does that have to do with what you want to discuss?" Lily asked.

"What are you playing at?" John demanded.

"Be happy you're here!" Harry snapped, before calming himself. "You get to tell it yourself rather than having _me_ tell it. I am giving you a chance to let me change my opinion of you. If you waste it, you will not get another."

"Harry," James said, "I don't think there is a need to be so harsh on your brother."

Harry met his eyes. "There is. Which is why I am giving him the chance to explain himself. John?"

"Why are you doing this?" his brother demanded.

"Why are you _not_ doing this?" Harry countered. "You never stand a damn chance if you're too arrogant to work with others. What, you think you can just walk up to Voldemort, flick an _Expelliarmus_ in his face and kill him or something? If you're not talking, I will, and I doubt you would prefer that. Your first year at Hogwarts, John."

"It's illegal!" John said.

"Neither of us had a choice in the matter, shut up and start talking."

"What is illegal?" Lily inquired, worried.

"Long-term time travel," Harry answered when John remained silent.

"Time… travel?" James asked.

"Time travel," Harry confirmed. "John, first year at Hogwarts."

"Wait, wait, wait," Lily said. "How did this time travel happen?"

"We'll get there," Harry said.

"The first time around," John started reluctantly, "well, it didn't start off very different, except for two things. There was no Lord Slytherin, and because of that, Hermione got sorted into Gryffindor instead." He glared at Harry. "She was my best friend, and you stole her away from me!"

"No," Harry countered, "_you_ drove her away yourself because, after learning about wizarding traditions, she was _appalled_ to hear you had never bothered to teach her any."

"No Lord Slytherin?" James asked.

"We'll file that away for later," Harry said. "Continue."

"The first time around," John said, "Hermione was actually the one the troll was after, and Ron and me saved her, that's how we became friends. Uh, I also didn't take part in the dueling tournament, and neither did Harry."

"I was, by the way, shunned by other houses for being a Slytherin and shunned by Slytherin for my obviously muggle – and abused – upbringing, not to mention my family being Light," Harry said. "In other words, I was completely friendless and barely even knew about magic. On top of that, my family refused all contact with me. But we'll get back to that. John?"

"Me, Ron and Hermione found out someone was after the Stone," John continued, only to be interrupted immediately.

"Stone?" Lily asked.

"The Philosopher's Stone was hidden in Hogwarts during our first year," Harry said. "The lockdowns were related to that."

John gasped in realization. "What happened to it?"

"The real one is in possession of the Flamels," Harry said. "We'll get back to that, too."

"Well," John continued, "we figured out about the Stone and that someone was after it, and when Dumbledore left Hogwarts we tried to save it and I fought Voldemort for it, and was saved by Dumbledore, who had realized he shouldn't have left Hogwarts."

"I do believe you are forgetting one thing," Harry said before James and Lily had time to get over the shock that Voldemort had been in Hogwarts. "Early in first year, you were called to Dumbledore's office, correct?"

"You _know_?"

"Of _course_ I know. How often have you come across something I _don't_ know? Now out with it."

John glared at him, seemingly trying to decide what to do.

"No way around it," Harry said. "Our parents will want to know _what_ we know now."

The defiant glare lasted a second longer, then John looked at the ground between his feet. "Dumbledore told me I'm not actually the Boy-Who-Lived—" He didn't get any further.

"_What_?" Both James and Lily exclaimed. "Then… who is?" Lily asked, face paling quickly.

"Harry," John said, "but Dumbledore said…" he trailed off.

"My dear idiot brother, let me remind you once again there is very little I don't know. At least on the topics we're discussing here."

"Dumbledore said the prophecy warned Harry would likely become a Dark Lord," he finished with a small voice.

Harry scoffed. "Likely? You never heard the prophecy, did you John?"

He shook his head.

"But… the prophecy says…" Lily started.

Harry stared at her. "You _know_ the prophecy and you went along with Dumbledore's insanity? I… I honestly have no words. And to think I believed you were just following orders…" He shook his head as he stood and made to leave the room – and the manor – forever.

"Harry, wait!" Lily shouted. "You… you know the prophecy?"

"Lady Potter, let me remind you once again, there is very little about this situation I do not know."

"But… we thought John was the Boy-Who-Lived. If he's not, this changes everything!" There was, Harry noted, fear in her voice. He took a moment to consider the prophecy from Dumbledore's viewpoint, but when believing John to be the Boy-Who-Lived… and realized their actions towards Harry – in whatever way – would not make any sense, as the entire prophecy never referred to the Boy-Who-Lived's twin. In fact, if they'd have known the prophecy and gone along with Dumbledore's plan, _while_ believing John was the Boy-Who-Lived, they'd have thought _John_ should have gone to the Dursleys.

He turned around.

"What did the prophecy that you heard say?"

"It… we'd have to discuss this without John." She glanced at the boy, who seemed uncertain what to think of the situation.

"The prophecy," Harry said, "the _real_ prophecy, mentions one child only. In fact, it could even have applied to Neville Longbottom, as he fit all the criteria. Voldemort picked us to get two of the possible targets at once, and between me and John decided at random."

"Did Lord Slytherin tell you a prophecy?" James asked.

"We'll get to Lord Slytherin," Harry said. "Where did you hear the prophecy you heard?"

"We went to the Hall of Prophecies," Lily said, "under the—"

"Yes, I know where it is. Lord Potter, permission to draw a wand without the Trace in your home?"

"You have a _Traceless wand_?" James asked. "And why the formal request?"

"Later," Harry said. "The formal request is because I want to avoid any unfortunate misunderstandings."

James nodded. "Permission granted."

Harry drew his yew wand and gave it a few flicks, creating an orb like the prophecy orbs. He picked it up and pulled off the cap as a voice started speaking. Three of the people in the room recognized the voice from Sybil Trelawney's prophecy.

"_This is how long it takes to create a fake prophecy._"

That was all.

"The… you're saying the prophecy we heard was fake?" Lily asked.

"As you were under the impression the prophecy mentioned both me and John, that seems likely," Harry said, causing both his parents to breathe a sigh of relief. That was interesting.

"What is your source?" James asked.

"I have multiple that I consider trustworthy," Harry said, "the most important being a memory of the prophecy itself being spoken. I will tell you how I came across the memory, but that, again, has to wait until later."

"What does it say?" Lily almost whispered.

Harry walked back to his chair and sat down as he quoted. "'The one who has the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches… born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies… and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal—'" he pointed at his scar "'—but he will have the power the Dark Lord knows not… and either must die at the hands of the other for neither can live while the other survives… the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…'"

"That can't be," James said. "Why would Dumbledore fear for you to become a Dark Lord because of that?"

Harry sighed. They had gone completely off the intended track when it was mentioned John wasn't the Boy-Who-Lived. They'd get there, though. "Have you ever heard of the ritual that, in the rare case it is even mentioned, is called the Unforgivable Ritual?"

James shook his head. "Perhaps I know it by name, Padfoot might have mentioned it from his job."

"Unlikely," Harry said, "as the name itself is Taboo. I won't go into the details of it's cost or benefits, but I do know what they are and they are obvious proof Dumbledore has performed it. One particular aspect of the ritual is that it requires you to make a vow to work towards a certain purpose, and it makes you somewhat… obsessive in that direction. I am not entirely certain on the specific wording, but Dumbledore's vow was something along the lines of 'I will not allow a new Dark Lord to rise'. If you tilt your head and squint your eyes, it is possible to interpret the prophecy as saying I have the potential to become a Dark Lord. To be absolutely clear, I have no intention of doing so. I will kill Voldemort because of the prophecy and because I have seen what happens if I am not in a position to do so – time travel, remember – and I will leave Dumbledore powerless in return for how royally he has fucked up my life, but apart from that I have no intention to interfere with the leadership of the country at all, except perhaps in the political arena and according to its rules."

"You don't have political power," James pointed out.

"I'm the Boy-Who-Lived."

"So… that's all the prophecy says?" John asked with a small voice. Harry had almost forgotten he was there; the conversation had moved too fast for John to catch up and participate.

"It is," Harry said.

John seemed to be fighting with himself. Finally, he said, "He must've had more reasons."

"Pick a side, John. As I told you at the start of this, I'm giving you a chance to make me change my opinion of you, if you don't take it you will not get another. You either follow Dumbledore's manipulations and I make sure your life will be ruined for what you did both in this timeline and previous, or you face the truth and stop treating me like the next Voldemort."

"I am the champion of Fate and Death!"

"I fail to see how that is relevant to your choice," Harry said. "If you stop working against me, I promise you I will not pursue further vengeance, and I'll even ask Hermione and Ginny to give you a chance if you wish to make up to them."

"What about Lord Slytherin?" John asked.

Harry sighed. "It all comes back to that, doesn't it. There's no need for you to be worried about that."

"What's this thing with 'champion of Fate and Death'?" Lily asked.

"We'll get there," Harry said. "John, what is your choice?"

"What about the timeline?"

Harry sighed. Deeply.

"John, the timeline isn't going to get back on track. It's simple as that. Now make your choice."

He nodded slightly. "I'll… I'll wait and see."

"_Good_. Now, where were we. Ah, yes, first year. John had stopped Voldemort from stealing the Philosopher's Stone, I was friendless and alone. Second year started, and on Halloween the Chamber of Secrets opened. Throughout the year, there were a number of attacks by what turned out to be a basilisk. At some point during the year, I was accidentally outed as a Parselmouth - that's related to something that happened when Voldemort tried to kill me, by the way. Near the end of the year, it was found a cursed object, a diary that once belonged to Voldemort, had been possessing Ginny to open the Chamber. However, Dumbledore saw this as the golden opportunity to get rid of what he feared to be a budding Dark Lord – me. Like he attempted just last year, I was framed and sent to Azkaban.

"In the third year I believe there was some business with Pettigrew escaping Azkaban, but I am afraid I do not know the details, and in the fourth year the Triwizard Tournament was held, and John was entered by an outside source even though the tournament was supposed to only be for students of age. The tournament was manipulated so John won, and he was kidnapped by the trophy, which was a portkey, to participate in Lord Voldemort's resurrection ritual. After Voldemort's resurrection, the two of you dueled and you died, is that correct?"

The twins ignored their parents' gasps and John nodded. "I then met Fate and Death," John said. "Death was angry that Voldemort had cheated him, and they told me they had decided to send me back in time to give me another chance, so even though Harry was the Boy-Who-Lived they'd decided to choose me because it was easier for them to send me back than to send him back. But apparently, we were somehow _both_ sent back in time." He looked at Harry. "I still don't understand why Harry is stronger than me with just two years of Hogwarts though."

"Ah," Harry said, "that's because we weren't actually sent back together. You were sent back, and decided it was important to preserve the timeline, as well as gather yourself a few nice girls while you were at it, thanks for the inspiration by the way. Preserving the timeline, however, was _not_ a good idea. Even though there were indications in second year that things were going differently, you refused to act on it despite knowing exactly where the Chamber was and who was being possessed. And because of that, Ginny died. If you're wondering why she hates you, that's why. Anyway, I was once again framed, this time for a murder as well as the petrifications, and sent to Azkaban.

"Third and fourth year weren't very different, but this time you were more skilled, and therefore you survived Voldemort's kidnapping. I could go into detail of what happened those later years, but it's honestly not all that important. You were fighting the war, were losing, Dumbledore died, and then at some point you decided that if Fate and Death gave you a second chance, they'd give you a third chance as well, so you walked up to Voldemort and just let him send a Killing Curse at you. Guess what, Fate and Death were not amused.

"In the meanwhile, I was sitting in Azkaban, and once Voldemort was resurrected, I started seeing visions of his actions because his failed Killing Curse on Halloween had established a connection between our minds. As time went on, I started exploring his mind and learning from him. He knew I was the true Boy-Who-Lived, and always took great joy out of explaining everything in detail and then reminding me that I was the only one who could stop him, and I was locked up in Azkaban. Eventually, ten years after I was imprisoned, Fate and Death managed to manipulate events so I was chucked through the Veil in the Ministry. They explained me the mess you'd made and told me that, this time around, they'd send me back instead as I had absorbed all of Voldemort's knowledge by that point.

"At the time, after living ten years in Durzkaban, two years alone and hated in Slytherin, and another ten years in Azkaban surrounded by dementors, I was determined to make you suffer until eventually ensuring your death. Consider yourself lucky I've changed since being sent back in time."

"So you're… what, twenty-five?"

"Twenty-eight," Harry corrected. "You see, I didn't have the status of being known as the Boy-Who-Lived, nor even the status of being the Potter Heir. On top of that, the mightiest man of Wizarding Britain, Albus Dumbledore, was determined to send me to Azkaban simply for existing. So I was sent back three years further than you and… I was granted a boon."

"A boon?" John asked, confused.

"Wait," Lily interceded. "Exactly to when was John sent back?"

"Our eleventh birthday," Harry said, "so I was sent back to my eighth birthday."

Lily's mouth opened in a comically slow way, until after several seconds she covered it with her hand as the realization truly hit home.

"Right of Conquest," she whispered.

Harry nodded.

"What?" John asked. "What's going on?"

James looked back and forth between his wife and Harry until he suddenly exclaimed, "_You're_ Lord Slytherin!"

"I am," Harry said calmly, letting the Lordship ring fade into view as John shouted "What?" in disbelief.

"So what is it you wish to do?" James asked, immediately tackling the political angle. "Absolutely no one knows."

"As I told you earlier," Harry said, "I wish to kill Voldemort, as decreed by prophecy and ordered by Fate and Death, and I will ruin or perhaps even kill Dumbledore, again ordered by Fate as she was extremely displeased at his attempts to subvert the prophecy. I'm willing to stay away from John in the future unlike what I originally planned, though Hermione and Ginny have already chosen to work with me because of what he's done and more importantly hasn't done in the last two timelines.

"Beyond that, _I_ just wish to live a carefree life at Slytherin Manor with the girls, but it's of course not possible to build a political faction on 'I want to be left alone', so with the Gray I am aiming to create a faction that combines the more reasonable elements of the Dark and Light factions. For example, I wish to see more equality, but I do not believe the Wizarding World should abandon its culture to cater to Muggleborn. Hermione and her parents are an example of my aim: To fully integrate Muggleborn into Magical Britain, which really is similar to immigrating into a country with a completely different culture. Just giving a Muggleborn a wand and telling them they're a wizard or a witch puts them miles behind children who grow up in the Wizarding World."

"Hermione did just fine!" John said.

"Hermione is the smartest person I have ever come across, and that includes all the people in Voldemort's memories. And even in her case, she is doing _miles_ better than she did the last timeline now that she knows occlumency and wizarding traditions. Also, Vassalizing the House of Granger and integrating them into the magical world has allowed them to perform some absolutely remarkable feats and that's just in the a year and a half. I dare say that integrating a few more people like them could forever revolutionize our views on magic and what is and isn't possible with it.

"In general, my goal in the Wizengamot is to find a middle road between the Dark and the Light, and on top of that I have the advantage of being neither a homicidal maniac nor an obsessive manipulator who cares not about the pieces in the game." He gave his parents a smile. "I hope that makes for a good sales talk?"

James gaped at him. "You wish for us to join the Gray?"

"You would rather continue to follow the man who manipulated you into abandoning your own flesh and blood because of his obsession? Not to mention that one of the Powers that Be pretty much put a price on his head when I met her?"

"And I will have to follow my own son instead?"

"Only in the way Lord Greengrass and Lord Lovegood, but also the Grangers, Hermione, Daphne and the others 'follow' me. I'm not a ruler and I have no interest in becoming one. I have to set the course because I am simply the one in the best position to do so, but I listen to what every Lord has to say and where possible I will leave the final decision to them as well. You would not follow me, you would join the political faction of the Gray. If I get my way, I am retired from politics in a decade from now and Lord Greengrass is likely to become the leader of the Gray, if Daphne doesn't take over at that point." He chuckled. "Actually, one could argue she's already leading the Gray with how much I'm asking her advice. She's a political machine."

"That betrothal contract makes much more sense now," Lily muttered.

Harry grinned. "Yes, it does, doesn't it? Talking about betrothal contracts, I do believe Lord Weasley mentioned the possibly of a betrothal contract between me and Ginny. Has that been discussed at some point between you and them?"

"With the… fake prophecy we retrieved from the Hall of Prophecies, we believed we needed to control you or risk the end of magic itself, and we considered it as the ultimate leash. And why did Arthur mention it to you?"

Harry laughed. "The end of magic itself? You'll have to show me a pensive memory sometime, it sounds like Dumbledore went all out. As for why Arthur mentioned it, I have had a few meetings with him as Lord Slytherin, as you are probably aware, and he's decided to join the Gray and publicly announce it at the Winter Festival."

"Would you _want_ to marry Ginny?" Lily asked. "I do believe you mentioned 'the girls' earlier…"

"If she wants to," Harry said. "I would never sign a betrothal contract for a girl without her knowing exactly what she gets into and agreeing to it, but yes, I am hoping to marry all five of them – I feel like I deserve it after having spent twenty years in prison by my eighth birthday."

"Five?" James asked. "You're betrothed – wow, I can't believe I'm saying that – you're betrothed to Heiress Greengrass and Heiress Lovegood, and Ginny and Miss Granger are the obvious other two, but who is the last?"

Harry smirked. "Alexandra."

The Potters looked even more confused now. "But she leads the Dark at Hogwarts," James eventually said.

"Because I told her to take control of them," Harry replied. "I trust her absolutely, like I trust any of the girls absolutely."

"But… she's Dark!" John said. "If you know her that well you surely know how interested she is in the Dark Arts!"

"I don't have time to go into a detailed discussion of Alex' psyche," Harry said, "but she's not specifically interested in the Dark Arts. She's interested in everything, and if you try to keep her away from something, she'll only become more interested in it, because she wants to know what's so special about it. She also – and please forgive me for saying this of Lord Black, I really do like the man – hasn't been raised very well. She places great importance on tradition and power in general, and her father trying to steer her away from that only reinforces it. By giving that to her and showing her that I am not afraid to exercise my power – as I did of course create a political faction out of absolutely nothing in just a few years – I gained her loyalty, which in turn allows me to steer her into a direction that I expect Lord Black will be okay with as well, even if she will never quite share his viewpoints."

"So you're just _fine_ with her practicing the Dark Arts?" John demanded.

"I am fine with her having knowledge of them," Harry corrected, "and I am actually teaching her what is and is not acceptable to use. Don't _ever_ let her know I said this, but she is actually a very sweet girl and though it would definitely be possible to make a killer out of her – I know Voldemort did it in the previous timeline – she has no natural tendencies in that direction, nor do I intend to encourage her. I suspect she will become something of a Dark Arts expert in the next few years, which is absolutely vital if we are fighting Voldemort, who already knows I have all his knowledge and is therefore changing up his methods and, most likely, searching for new magic."

"How does he know that?" Lily asked.

"Remember when we talked about the Philosopher's Stone? I knew it was of course vital to keep it away from Voldemort because he would be able to resurrect himself otherwise, but I intended to take it for myself to fund projects like Slytherin Manor, and with both of us being after it, he figured out who I was and has some idea of what I know, though he is unaware of the time travel. As it turned out, however, Nicholas Flamel is smarter than Dumbledore and never even gave him the real Stone to use as bait."

"Bait?" Lily asked, confused.

"Dumbledore wanted to use it to try and draw out a confrontation between me and Voldemort. If I would die to Voldemort, the prophecy would be fulfilled, which would allow him to take care of Voldemort himself, and he'd be rid of what he considered a potential Dark Lord. And yes, that means Dumbledore was aware Voldemort was in the castle for several months at least, perhaps even the entire year."

"Ignoring your confession you were trying to steal the Merlin-be-damned _Philosopher's Stone_," James said, "how _did_ you fund Slytherin Manor if the Stone was fake?"

"Will you join the Gray?"

"Does the answer to my question depend on that?"

"Obviously. And no, it is not something illegal, just something I am not willing to share outside of the Gray."

James exchanged a look with his wife. "After seeing everything Dumbledore has done, as well as his reasoning, or honestly lack of reasoning, for it, I don't think not doing so is really an option anymore. I could decide to simply leave the Light without joining the Gray, but apart from your… questionable desire to get yourself five wives—"

"Which I totally got from John doing the same thing."

"—I can't really fault your aims, and if we are indeed going to fight another war, I find myself hard-pressed to fault your methods as well. So yes, I do believe we will join the Gray."

Harry nodded. "I am glad to hear that. As for Slytherin Manor, it was originally funded mostly by loans as I was looking for ways to earn more money, and thanks to a prophecy, which I highly doubt was coincidence considering the prior interference of Fate in my life, we were able to find a large treasure that is worth far more than what is needed to fund Slytherin Manor, and as the treasure originally belonged to Salazar Slytherin's grandson, I would even be it's legal owner if such laws still applied to treasure lost some nine centuries ago."

Just at that moment, a house elf popped in. "What do masters want for lunch?" he asked, excited as house elves always are.

"Doesn't really matter," James replied, "just a normal lunch is fine." The elf popped out.

Harry smirked. "I did say we'd likely be here until lunch. I do believe we're done, though. Unless you have more questions?"

"Why now?" James asked. "Why did you pick now to tell us?"

"Remember how I told you I had a scheduling conflict?" Harry said. "In the past, we've used Polyjuice when Harry Potter and Lord Slytherin had to be at the same place, but I felt doing so for the entire Slytherin Winter Festival would be too difficult, not to mention the chance of someone figuring out 'Harry Potter' is not actually Harry Potter but someone else – probably Ginny. I do seem to remember the girls being under the impression Lily became suspicious during that dinner a while back while I was in Iceland with Daphne for her birthday."

"I _knew_ something was off!" Lily exclaimed. "But Ginny was there. So who was playing you, then?"

"She _was_ playing me, actually, and Luna was playing Ginny. Luna's impersonation of Ginny is almost flawless, while Ginny is better at impersonating me."

"_Ginny_ was you?" John asked.

"Yes, why?"

"Then…" he took a very deep breath. "I _thought_ Ginny was sitting on your lap and _you_ quietly said 'mine', but then that was _Ginny_ doing it."

Harry started laughing. "She's always had a very vicious streak," he said between breaths. "I can't believe she didn't even tell me. I doubt she will ever be willing to become friends with you again like you remember being, but I can ask her to give you another chance if you were to give her an honest apology. Beyond that, it's all up to you and her. And you still have Susan. I do believe she's a pretty sweet girl.

"But to get back on the topic of why I told you now, as I said I was worried about keeping up the masquerade for so long at a time, and on top of that I knew I would have to tell you at some point anyway – the Boy-Who-Lived and Lord Slytherin part, at least – because I'm planning to go public with it in the future, with the Gray Lords being the first to hear about it after the festival, and I hoped uncovering Dumbledore's manipulations would at the very least make you distance yourselves from him somewhat. Going through the entire thing including time travel simply made certain of that. Oh, and while we're on the topic, the fact I am a time traveler is a Slytherin family secret, so no telling anyone else. Not even Lord and Lady Greengrass are aware of it, just the girls. Well, and you now."

"When you said you had a scheduling conflict," Lily said, "I had not expected _this_."

Harry chuckled. "It's probably safe to say this was the most interesting discussion of a scheduling conflict ever."

"What about Sirius?" James asked.

"What about him?"

"If we're going to join the Gray, I want him to come along."

"I expected that," Harry said. "Considering Alex is Gray, and I know how much he cares about her, I don't think convincing him should be too hard, in particular if you come to the Gray as well. We can visit him this afternoon, perhaps? And then we'll publicly announce the Weasleys, Potters and Blacks joining the Gray at the festival." He grinned. "This is going to cause a political landslide. But let's have lunch first, shall we?"

James nodded, and together they made their way back to the dining room.


End file.
